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Rutgers-Camden Law Students Helping Ex-offenders Reenter Society

CAMDEN — Each year thousands of adult and juvenile offenders are
released from correctional facilities and return to communities throughout New
Jersey. Many of them face significant hurdles while trying to reintegrate into
society.

Students at the Rutgers School of Law–Camden are helping these
ex-offenders resolve their civil legal problems so their re-entry is successful.

Rutgers–Camden students aren’t only helping those who have just
been released from prison. This year, the program has expanded to aid offenders
who are still in prison.

“If a client has an outstanding warrant, for example, he or she
may not be permitted to go to a halfway house,” McLaughlin says. “We work to
resolve those warrants so they can be transferred to halfway houses or how-level
security facilities when eligible.”

Approximately 40 students are working on the project this semester
and meet with their clients as needed, or until the client’s case is resolved.

“The Reentry Project has afforded me the opportunity to meet with actual
inmates and counsel them as well as interact with local court personnel,” says
Adam Klein, a second-year Rutgers–Camden law student from Cherry Hill. “The
skills I learn from this project can’t be learned in a classroom and the
experience has helped me bridge the gap between law school and real law
practice.”

In 2013, the Rutgers School of Law–Camden plans to expand its
reentry services by introducing a new Reentry Clinic, in which third-year law
students could represent ex-offenders in court under faculty supervision.

“Not only is helping ex-offenders with re-entry the right thing to
do when someone has paid his or her price to society, but it’s also the
economically wise thing to do,” says Eve Biskind Klothen, assistant dean for
pro bono and public interest programs at the Rutgers School of Law–Camden.
“It’s less costly to assist someone coming out of incarceration than it is to
re-incarcerate that person. Furthermore, it not only benefits the ex-offenders,
it benefits their families and their communities, too.”

Juvenile offenders have re-entry issues that must also be
resolved. Through its Children’s Justice Clinic, Rutgers–Camden law students
are easing the transition for juveniles who are being released from residential
treatment programs or correctional facilities.

“When children are released
from these facilities, it is often very difficult for them to enroll in
school,” says Sandra Simkins, chair of clinical programs at the Rutgers School
of Law–Camden and director of the Children’s Justice Clinic.

“Some schools create barriers that prevent these youths from
enrolling,” Simkins explains. “Without an education, it is very difficult for
youth to succeed. That’s why re-entry for children is so critical.”

Eight students are enrolled in the clinic per semester and help
juveniles with issues like enrolling in school and finding a place to live.

“In some cases, the youth have nowhere to live once they leave a
correctional facility,” Simkins says. “We need to find housing for him.
Otherwise, he’ll be homeless. If the child doesn’t have a stable place to live,
it will lead to more bad outcomes.”

One of four Rutgers–Camden law clinics, the Children’s Justice
Clinic provides legal representation in juvenile court hearings and allows
students to work with their clients to address the causes of delinquency
problems in their home environment.

Established in 2010, the Federal Prisoner Reentry Project is one
of 14 pro bono projects at the Rutgers School of Law–Camden.

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